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 (Photo courtesy of Princeton' Office of Athletic Communications) caption:
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Driven By Its Stellar Trio of Senior "Money Girls," Tiger Women's Golf Aims to Cash In at NCAAs
By Bill Alden
The initials of their first names are A-T-M, leading their coach to nickname them the "money girls."
They are the three senior stars who have taken the Princeton University women's golf program to new heights.
They are Avery Kiser, Taryn Haladay, and Meg Nakamura and later this week they head to Gainesville, Fla. to lead the Tigers at the NCAA East regional.
Princeton head coach Eric Stein, though, doesn't call his trio of seniors the money girls just because of their initials.
"They have produced throughout their career," said Stein, who is in his 15th year coaching the Tiger women's program. "It's the best team we have ever had."
With the Tigers ranked 59th in the country by a recent poll in Golfweek Magazine, Stein believes his squad could emerge as one of the eight teams that advance from the three-round regional competition to the championship finals.
"They just need to be themselves and play golf," said Stein, whose other key players are sophomore Sharla Cloutier and freshman Annika Welander.
"If we shoot our average round of 307-308 (based on the four best individual scores), we could get to the finals. They just have to take it one shot at a time. The next shot is the most important."
One of the money girls, Nakamura, believes the Tigers have nothing to lose as it battles such elite teams as Duke, Pepperdine, Washington, Ohio State, and host Florida in the 21-team field at the regional which is slated to be played from May 5-7.
"Our team is definitely optimistic, it's a great opportunity," said Nakamura, a Chicago-area native who placed a team-best second in the individual standings at the Ivy League Championships to help lead Princeton to a 35-stroke win in the team standings.
"We have a lot of depth and quality golfers. We're steady; we don't get too high or too low on the course. We also have a lot of experience with three seniors, a sophomore who has played every match this season, and a freshman with extensive experience in the juniors."
Nakamura also believes the bond between the three seniors on the team has been a key factor in its success. "It keeps golf fun," said Nakamura, referring to her close relationships with Kiser and Haladay.
"It's tough trying to balance schoolwork with the time that we are away on golf. It's nice to have people who are your close friends and are dealing with the same stresses."
Stein said he had put his players under some extra stress this season to help them hone their skills. "I took them on the road this year," said Stein.
"We went to Michigan State, we went to Doral, we went to Austin Peay, and we went out to Cal Irvine. We won five tournaments: Princeton, Doral (the Pat Bradley Women's Golf Championship), the Ivy League, Austin Peay, and James Madison."
In Stein's view, the Tigers' performance at the latter tournament could be a harbinger of things to come at the East Regional.
"We had our all-time best round at JMU (294) and our best total for three rounds (900)," added Stein. "The conditions there were warm and there wasn't much wind. We're hoping that things will be like that in Florida."
Nakamura, for her part, is looking to build on her stellar performance at the Ivy championships. "I struggled in the first round but then I held things together," recalled Nakamura, who will be working in Tokyo after graduation.
"I play my best when my ballstriking is right. I'm comfortable in all types of weather; I have a different mentality than some of the other girls. Hopefully things will work out. It's tough to put three good scores up.'
For Stein, it is going to be tough to part with his three money girls. "Avery will go down as one of the program's all-time best players with her three Ivy League individual titles," declared Stein with some wistfulness in his voice.
"She had a real impact. Meg is a talented athlete who starred at basketball as well as golf in high school. She has really raised the level of her game. Taryn has had a tremendous spring, she has put up some big numbers. She has been a fighter, a real scrapper. They will all be missed."
The trio should make a lasting impression on their foes at the regional no matter how high they place. "It's a real honor for us, we'll be the only team playing that doesn't give athletic scholarships," noted Stein, whose program has won two straight Ivy crowns and three league titles in the last five years.
"The other kids don't know what the kids at Princeton are like. They will find out that our kids are down to earth and love the game just like they do."
With each of the seniors having completed her thesis, Nakamura believes the trio will be focused to end their careers with a bang.
"We have nothing hanging over our heads," said Nakamura. "We are all going to be going full force. We know that all the teams have nerves. We just need to be comfortable and not let a bad hole throw us off."
With the three money girls in the fold, its going to be hard to throw off the Tigers this week.
